Quick Facts
Biography
Michael E. O'Neill (born 1946) is an American business executive. He is currently the chairman of Citigroup.
Early life and education
He was born in Santa Monica, California, in the United States, and spent much of his early life in Asia and Europe. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in European Civilization in 1969 and served as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps between 1969 and 1971. He received an MBA in 1974 from the University of Virginia.
Career
In 1974 he joined Continental Illinois and moved to First Interstate Capital Markets in 1984 returning to Continental in 1989 to manage its mergers and acquisitions advisory business. In 1992 he became CFO of Continental. After Continental was acquired by BankAmerica he was head of its global equity investments division in 1994 and 1995. From 1995 to 1999 he was BankAmerica's CFO.
In 1999 he became chief executive of Barclays Bank but resigned after two months because he had developed an arrhythmic heartbeat. From 2000 to 2004 he was chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawaii.
In 2009 he became a member of Citigroup's board of directors. In September 2011 he became chairman of the bank's Citibank NA division, and in March 2012 he was named chairman.
Resignation of Vikram Pandit
On October 16, 2012, then CEO Dr. Vikram Pandit has resigned unexpectedly. Michael Corbat, previously Citigroup's CEO of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, was named as his replacement. While Pandit and the company maintain that he resigned, Bloomberg News cited anonymous board sources indicating that Pandit was forced out by the board after eroding investor confidence and damaging company relations with regulators over an extended period. The New York Times later identified Chairman Michael E. O'Neill as the driving force behind a months-long secret effort to oust Pandit, which culminated in a surprise ultimatum to Pandit stating that he must resign immediately, resign at the end of the year, or be fired. His resignation followed multiple payouts to investors during ongoing fraud allegations.